Joao Moreira returned from suspension on Wednesday and it didn’t take much time for him to ride his 100th winner of the season. He landed a victory with the aptly-named Win It in the third race of the card that evening to achieve this special feat. This was also the fastest century of wins by a jockey in Hong Kong, and he reached the landmark at just the 60th race meeting of the season.
Now Joao will be aiming for bigger prizes in our two consecutive G1 weekends, firstly with the Audemars Piguet QEII Cup at Sha Tin tomorrow. The race was first held in 1975, so it’s the 40th anniversary of this premier middle distance race this year. The prize money has increased from HK$14 million to a record of HK$20 million, which is in keeping with its elite status as the race that ranked 19th among the World’s Top 100 G1 races.
I have been able to meet and chat with many international horsemen and media over the past two days, at Thursday’s barrier draw and during trackwork. Most of them reckon and expect it will be a fascinating race this year, as both the local and international contingents for this renewal are quite strong, and there appears to be little difference in their ability, meaning that plenty of horses have a chance.
Past results tell us that local and overseas runners have each won this race seven times since the race was promoted to international G1 status in 2001. This is what you would expect from one of the world’s best international contests, and it shows that both of home runners and visiting horses have a level chance to perform in this race.
Most people view it to be an interesting three-way tussle between past two winners Military Attack and Designs On Rome, and the Australian raider Criterion. The local duo has performed very consistently at the top level this season, especially Designs On Rome who has won four G1 2000m events over the past 12 months. Having said that, I watched the trackwork performance of Criterion at Sha Tin yesterday and he’s absolutely thriving and very relaxed. While I was there I chatted with his trainer David Hayes and I think the horse, who ran a length third to Designs On Rome and Military Attack in the Hong Kong Cup in December, has improved to another level. He was drawn right against the rail and that might further strengthen his claims against the Hong Kong duo. Anyway, I will look forward to seeing the race, and my hope is that all the horses and jockeys will show their best in this top class race for our racing fans.
Don’t forget that we will also bid farewell to a past APQEII Cup winner before the first race tomorrow, the 2011 winner Ambitious Dragon who retired last week. This seven-time G1/HKG1 winner is one of the greatest horses we have seen here and his career spanned a time when the international status of Hong Kong racing really rose up to the very highest level in recent years. Age and past injuries had started to take their toll on him, even though he still performed to a high-class level this season, but it’s a natural cycle for every racehorse and it’s great to see the owners making the sensible choice and retiring him while he was still capable of running with honour in G1 races.
I hope all of you who attend on Sunday will take the time to join our ceremony to pay tribute to this great horse at the Parade Ring. Our great old champion deserves the recognition and appreciation.
Also joining our races is APQEII Cup ambassador and movie star Leon Lai, who will be joining the presentation ceremony of the main race tomorrow. For the APQEII Cup, it is likely to be run at a very slow pace. With the good draw Criterion should be able to take a comfortable lead. Same World has drawn wide and is likely go forward sitting outside the leader. Blazing Speed is the only other regular on-pace runner and he should be well placed in a box seat. Military Attack and Staphanos should both be in midfield, with Smoking Sun being at risk to be run wide. Red Cadeaux and Helene Happy Star will settle further back with Designs On Rome.
If Designs On Rome performing at his best he would win here, but I’m a bit skeptical about his chances. Many Hong Kong horses had not been able to produce their top form after returning from Dubai, and I fear it is the same case for Designs On Rome, who looked a little bit light to me. Military Attack’s recent work was good but he was not 100 percent this morning and is doubtful for the race. Criterion is working very well and is my favourite for the race. Zac Purton was very impressed with him when working him during the week, which was a little bit of a surprise to all. The reason for this was that no other jockeys who were riding on Wednesday in races were permitted to ride Criterion due to quarantine regulations. Blazing Speed is on and off but he should not be overlooked and is at least a place chance. Helene Happy Star is another outsider I like here in this race.
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